Primrose
by Falconfire
Summary: [Oneshot] [SasuIno Request for MT Pocketts] He's done with his deed, and he is back. And she is there to welcome him.


Here's to MT Pocketts. Sorry for the long wait. Haha, prolly the funniest I could make it.

* * *

**Primrose**

Yesterday he returned, ebony locks rippled by the wind, onyx eyes staring proudly straight ahead, undeterred by the not-so-subtle whisperings that sprang along the path he took through Konoha.

The news thrived among the gossips, spreading faster than a wildfire in the underbrush. Soon, everyone knew the Uchiha prodigy had returned, so when _that_ announcement was made this morning, few were surprised. It was, however, a different story, when Tsunade continued that he would be pardoned of all his treacherous crimes.

Naturally, the town was abuzz with befuddled minds and fantastical hypothesizes all revolving around the unanticipated punishment, or lack thereof, that Uchiha Sasuke had received. With all the chaos, however, the actual man himself seemed to have faded away into the anarchy.

His personal fanclub, which had miraculously revived itself in the span of those few hours, was a rejuvenated as ever, and had taken it upon themselves to stalk the newly returned prodigy, who, might we add, was just as, if not more, attractive than he was when he left seven years past.

Currently, they have stationed their meeting place near the entrance of a building marked with the sign of 'Yamanaka Flower Shop', decidedly warding off all would-be customers.

The blue-eyed flower-shop owner pays no heed to the chattering of the ignorant girls. They are fantasizing about a boy who no longer exists within the body known as Uchiha Sasuke.

Her lips quirk up in a bitter smirk as she contemplates the fact that few of them would even comprehend if they possessed her knowledge of him.

Yes, Ino knows why he really returned.

Her mind drifts off into the reminiscence, and each word and emotion that had tumbled between them in that moment is called to the surface.

She recalls kneeling in a fertile meadow, wicker basket by her side, golden locks caressed by the sunlight, as she searches for the elusive flowers that grace the area with their fragrant presence in the springtime.

The place is the same one where her sensei had once brought her and her classmates to for flower picking in her Academy days. The memory is bittersweet, for it always reminds her of Sakura, the cute girl turned medic nin who shredded their friendship into scraps for the sake of a stupid, measly crush.

_Ah, _Her inner-self had murmured then,_ For her, maybe. But he was much more than a stupid, measly crush to you, was he not?_

Her melancholy thoughts had prevented her from recognizing the chakra that then began to emanate from the trees, but not from detecting the intruder's presence.

The blonde feels her spine stiffen, suddenly acutely aware that she is with her back to the stranger and there is only a thin cotton cloth between her and whatever he chose to throw at her in the next few seconds.

"Ino."

Instead of relief, the all-too-familiar voice causes her blood to run cold. She suppresses a shiver, whether of fear of anticipation, she does not know, and shifts her body ever so slightly to look slant upon him from the corner of her eyes.

He is both changed and not. That lofty smirk is still there, and his black hair was still in that cockatoo style that she remembers so fondly. However, the features of his face have sharpened, but instead of looking gaunt, it gives him the feeling of streamlined elegance. His genin clothes have long since been abandoned for Orochimaru look-alike attire.

Still, what that has changed the most about him are his eyes. No longer do they reflect an avid anger that blazes intensely, hungrily gnawing away at his soul and sanity. Instead, they now echo a weariness that is far too ancient for one his age. She cannot determine whether it is a change for the better, or the worse.

"Sasu-ke." Her voice, unexpectedly, comes out cracked. She clears her throat and tries again, adding force behind the syllables. "Sasuke. You're back."

She feels his presence move closer, and the addressed man settles down in the grass beside her.

"It's been a long time…Ino. You have changed." To her surprise, his voice, contrary to his features, had lost its steely edge. Perhaps it had grown in harshness to its peak, and was now on the decline.

Years of snippy remarks had caused such words to become instinctive. One perfectly plucked eyebrow curved upward, and she commented dryly, "Oh? That's the most I've heard you say to me my entire life, Sasuke-kun."

He grunted noncommittally and chose not to answer.

The comfortable silence that followed after was broken by her voice, "So, did you finally accomplish your dream?"

There was a long pause, and then Sasuke sighed, "I'd rather not use to word dream. You were always so optimistic, Ino." Here, a solitary strand of bitterness pervaded his tone. "Yes, I have accomplished my…goal, and now that it's done, I don't know where to go."

She watched him, noting how carefully he chose his words; she saw how he struggled to be as honest to her, to himself, as possible.

"…What do you mean?"

A strangely intense glow pervaded his gaze, he knew that she just wanted to hear him ask for her help again, "I'm done with all that I've lived my life striving for. I'm lost now…I'm tired of wandering, of the years I've wasted in revenge."

She smiles wryly, "You only say that because you actually _have_ accomplished your task."

"Ino…" The man sighed exasperatingly, her name rolling effortlessly off his tongue.

She suppresses a delicious shudder that threatens to make its way down her spine, arousing feelings she'd long since buried, and feared to unearth.

Sasuke is no fool. Smirking arrogantly to himself as he senses her desire for him revived, he stoops down quickly and plucks an amethyst bloom from the arms of the earth, placing the fragile blossom in her calloused fingers.

She watches his fingers entwine with hers for a moment, sees him pulling away in another of his dramatic exits…and catches his hand in a vice grip just before he can accomplish it.

_Hmmph. I never knew he'd learn to read flowers._

Reaching her other hand back into the basket, she extracts a bough of small white flowers, placing them into his palm.

Without looking back, her task complete, the blonde rises gracefully to her feet, striding back to Konoha, as she calls back over her shoulder,

"You drama-king. You'll always be welcome. Just come home already."

He smiles his first carefree smile, innocence flooding back into his soul, at her retreating back.

--

So for now, she turns back to the yellow and white flowers that she is arranging into a vase engraved with the kanji for "Welcome Back", and smiles knowingly to each plant's silky petals.

She knows he will come to her soon, that old arrogance back in his eyes, a confession on his lips.

Ino's smile widens as the crowd in front suddenly hushes in awe, and the storefront bell's telltale tinkle rings through the still air.

--- 

_Primroses for: "I can't live without you". _

_Yarrow is for healing._

**Owari**_  
_


End file.
